Page 88 of The Mayor and the Mystery Man

“Pun intended?”

Ijustgot that.

An old lady in a skeleton costume and a hat that said Zombie Breakfast went to the podium at the start. Leo informed me she was the oldest person in Sourwood. “Runners, are you ready?”

The crowd cheered back. I got hit with a boost of adrenaline, a contact high from the crowd.

We took our spot in line for kickoff. Hundreds of runners in assorted ghoulish gear surrounded us. Some were decked out in normal clothes, some had fake blood, some wore orange and black for general Halloween. The theme of this race was definitely elastic. I appreciated the verve of Sourwood, the excitement of people. It made me proud to serve such a festive group.

My eyes scanned the crowd, taking in the spirit and energy. They found a familiar face off to the side on the sidewalk: Rita.

Next to her was an old man with a thin mustache and malevolent eyes laser-focused on me. He flashed a creepy smile that sent a bitter taste to the back of my throat.

“Who’s that guy next to Rita?”

“The puppeteer. Rita’s dad. Gus Buchanan.” Leo rolled his eyes, then waved at Rita with every burst of faux small town neighborliness he could muster.

“He’s like the evil twin brother of the Monopoly man.”

Before I could make heard or tails of it, the old lady rang a bell, and we got to running. Ominous theme music from a horror movie played out on speakers on the route.

I pushed creepy old Monopoly man out of my mind. I had a race to finish. The people of Sourwood loved me. I couldn’t disappoint them by falling flat on my face.

“So when do the zombies come out?” I asked.

“You’ll see,” Leo said with a sly smile.

“You’re going to make me suffer in a state of anxiety while I run?”

“You bet.”

We ran out of Maple Street, down a side street that would take us to a field to finish the race. That was where the zombies would come out to play, I figured. More space. Leo said the race had originally taken place only through downtown, but we’d had people get injured. Too many things that pop up when you’re getting chased. A zombie broke his foot when he banged into a parking meter. Another smashed into a mailbox. Fields were much easier.

“They can pop out at any moment. Even from the manholes.” Leo pointed down.

“Are you serious?”

Leo laughed, giving himself away. I smacked his arm.

“Having zombies grab for runners’ feet seems like a lawsuit waiting to happen. You’re getting in my head, aren’t you?”

Just for that, I was determined to leave him in the dust. At some points, he struggled to keep up with me for a few seconds.

Other runners waved at us as they passed. It was like one big party with friends. Leo hi-fived people who passed and encouraged everyone along the way, keeping in the spirit of these races.

When we left downtown and entered a path in the woods, the mood changed. A chill went up my spine.

“Watch out!” I threw a protective arm across Leo as two zombies jumped out from behind the trees making groaning sounds. I recognized one of them as the mailman.

I made a quick dart to the left to evade capture.

“Shit. That was scary.” I would think twice before entrusting him with my letters.

“And that’s only the beginning. That was a slow zombie. Some of the younger kids who take part prefer being the fast, running zombie.”

“Are you fucking kidding me?”

“Welcome to the Zombie 5k!”

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